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Orcas: 'Short-term Fix' by Gayle Janzen Seattle Times, July 27, 2018

With Republicans in D.C. going out of their way to take away protections for endangered species, including our southern resident orcas, we are literally watching them starve to death, with extinction looming.

Killing sea lions is a short-term fix to increase salmon runs, but it will not increase their numbers in sufficient numbers longterm to save the orcas. The best solution is to remove the four lower Snake River dams. The state has spent millions of our tax dollars trying to make the dams salmon friendly, but none of their "solutions" is working.

Instead of co-sponsoring legislation to kill sea lions, Sen. Maria Cantwell needs to stand up to the special-interest groups that don't want to change their ways if the dams are removed. They can find solutions to whatever changes the loss of the dams will create, but the orcas will not survive without a significant increase in salmon.